What helps women lose weight again after having a baby?

After gaining weight in pregnancy, it's normal for women to only lose it gradually in the months following childbirth. Combining changes in diet with extra physical exercise can help them get back to their old weight again.
It's normal to put on weight during pregnancy. The extra weight is needed to help nourish the growing baby. Part of the weight is extra fluid in the woman’s body. In some women, the extra effort involved in breastfeeding and caring for a new baby are enough to make the gained weight melt away on its own. But it's not always that easy: Six months after giving birth, nearly half of all women still weigh more than they did before becoming pregnant.
Some women would like to lose weight because they simply don't feel happy with their figure. Most women gradually gain a little weight as they get older anyway – whether or not they have children. This will usually not cause any health problems. But if women who were a normal weight before becoming pregnant still weigh as much as they did at the end of pregnancy one year later, they might be more likely to have a weight problem in the long term. This might get worse in future pregnancies.